Joe Montana: Niners from '89 would beat current team

Joe Montana: Niners from '89 would beat current team

By Marc Sessler

Updated: Feb. 3, 2013 at 12:10 a.m.

NEW ORLEANS -- A win on Sunday against the Baltimore Ravens would make the San Francisco 49ers a perfect 6-0 in Super Bowl appearances, but Joe Montana isn't ready to place this year's squad up there with the juggernaut he presided over.

I caught up with the Hall of Fame quarterback at "NFL Honors" on Saturday and asked how the 1989 49ers -- perhaps Montana's most dominant 49ers squad -- would have fared against the 2012 version.

"That would be bad for this year's team," Montana said. "That was one of, I think, our more explosive teams all around, offensively and defensively. It would have been a good matchup, I think, but two different styles."

Montana was quick to compliment coach Jim Harbaugh's handiwork, and he emphasized the stylistic differences between this year's 49ers and those championship squads of old.

In some sort of alternate universe, it would be fascinating to watch the teams compete, but what San Francisco is doing with Colin Kaepernick under center is all about the present. These 49ers are just beginning to write their story.